Chelsea were edged out by Arsenal in a five-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, with the Gunners holding a 3–2 aggregate lead after the first leg of this Carabao Cup semi-final.
No Cole Palmer, no Reece James, no Moisés Caicedo because of injuries and a suspension respectively. Liam Rosenior had his hands tied against the best team in England without arguably his three best and most important players.
But in the circumstances, defeat might not feel that bad. Arsenal’s dominance in spells could have seen them run away with the game, and therefore the tie, but Chelsea fought back to ensure that the second leg at the Emirates Stadium next month will be far from a dead rubber.
Ben White headed Arsenal into an early lead following a Robert Sánchez error. The goalkeeper gifted the visitors their second goal, scored by Viktor Gyökeres in the second half, too.
Alejandro Garnacho scored twice for Chelsea either side of an Arsenal third from Martín Zubimendi, which could yet prove crucial as to how the tie eventually finishes.
Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
GK: Robert Sánchez—4.9: Given Arsenal’s prowess from corners, the Spaniard needed to command the situations. The first test, he failed, throwing a weak hand near the ball before White headed in. Later made an equally bad start to the second half when another led to the second goal.
RB: Josh Acheampong —6.2: One of the first Chelsea players subbed off. Didn’t really offer much from right back.
CB: Wesley Fofana—6.0: Completely wrongfooted by the Zubimendi body feint when the third goal flew in. Withdrawn quickly afterwards, whether related to that moment was not clear.
CB: Trevoh Chalobah—6.3: Could have been much stronger in his ground duels.
LB: Marc Cucurella—5.8: Found it tough against Bukayo Saka, often in tandem with White up and down the Arsenal right.
CM: Andrey Santos—5.5: With no Moisés Caicedo because of suspension, the Brazilian had big shoes to fill and struggled to do it.
CM: Enzo Fernández—6.5: Not as tidy or accurate with the ball as he would have hoped and struggled to do much with it in an attacking capacity to move Chelsea up the pitch.
RM: Estêvão—6.5: Lively in moments rather than a consistent threat. A yellow card for brandishing an imaginary one at the referee highlighted a perhaps understandable lack of maturity.
AM: João Pedro—6.4: Far too weak when he tried to challenge White when the Arsenal defender put the Gunners ahead. Not enough attacking impact.
LM: Pedro Neto—7.2: His end product has often been criticised, but it was a perfect cross to get Chelsea back into the game just after Arsenal went two goals ahead.
ST: Marc Guiu—5.8: The young striker kept his place from the weekend. Just 15 touches in 53 minutes summed up an anonymous night.
| Substitute | Rating (Out of 10) |
|---|---|
| Alejandro Garnacho (53’ for Guiu) | 8.7 |
| Benoît Badiashile (53’ for Acheampong) | 5.9 |
| Jorrel Hato (75’ for Fofana) | 6.2 |
| Shumaira Mheuka (81’ for Pedro) | N/A |
| Tosin Adarabioyo (81’ for Cucurella) | N/A |
Subs not used: Filip Jörgensen (GK), Dario Essúgo, Facundo Buonanotte, Tyrique George.
Arsenal (4-3-3)
Starting XI: Kepa Arrizabalaga; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel, Jurriën Timber; Martin Ødegaard, Martín Zubimendi, Declan Rice; Bukayo Saka, Viktor Gyökeres, Leandro Trossard.
Subs used: Gabriel Martinelli, Mikel Merino, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus.
Player of the Match: Alejandro Garnacho (Chelsea)
Chelsea 2–3 Arsenal—How it Unfolded at Stamford Bridge
Chelsea could hardly have had a worse start. Much of the narrative beforehand, as it does every time Arsenal take to a pitch, focused on how strong the visitors are from set pieces. The Blues had their own opportunity early on and Enzo Fernández kicked it straight out for a goal kick.
Only a couple of minutes later, Declan Rice stood over the ball in the corner quadrant at the opposite end of the pitch and delivered a wicked cross into the danger area. Chelsea, especially Sánchez, didn’t deal with it and White had an easy header from close-range.
The hosts could barely get out of their own half in the moments that followed, such was the suffocating nature of the Arsenal press. Fernández did manage a long-range shot after 13 minutes that was straight at former Chelsea stop Kepa Arrizabalaga, but they again found themselves hemmed in. And, after another corner, it was clear how uncomfortable Sánchez was.
For their dominance, the Gunners didn’t manage to create much in the way of clear chances, although Gyökeres had a shot deflected wide and some last-ditch defending from Fernández managed to block off Jurriën Timber’s route to goal.
Chelsea got moving around the half-hour mark, with João Pedro getting into a good position and then dragging a ball that was neither cross nor shot wide of the target. Soon after, Kepa did well to save from Estêvão when the teenager cut inside from the right.
William Saliba went close to doubling Arsenal’s lead in the closing stages of the first half, seeing his effort form the edge of the box land on the roof of the net.
On balance, Chelsea had improved as the opening 45 progressed and so it was a sickening sucker punch that another Sánchez howler gifted Arsenal their second goal. It should have been a simple low take to cut out a cross from White, instead the ball squirmed through his grasp and Gyökeres tapped into an empty net from in front of the goal.
The Chelsea goalkeeper did manage a save as Martin Ødegaard struck from distance. Remarkably, then came Garnacho pulling one back from nowhere. Pedro Neto made it, standing up a cross from the right that went all the way to the far post, where Garnacho controlled and found the net.
Just when the game had been threatening to run away from them, it breathed fresh life and vigour into the Blues. It didn’t last however, because Arsenal had their third with just under 20 minutes left. Gyökeres was involved again, laying off with his back to goal to Zubimendi, whose clever body movement opened up the space for the shot, which he gladly converted from near the penalty spot.
To his credit, Sánchez pulled off an incredible save to deny Mikel Merino adding an Arsenal fourth, spreading his body as the Spanish midfielder struck an inviting volley at the far post and managing to get a toe on the ball to deflect it wide of the target.
That proved even more important when Garnacho reduced the aggregate deficit a second time. The former Manchester United winger had barely done anything since putting the ball in the net just shy of the hour mark, but he was at it again when it fell his way a second time, a first-time volley. No particular power or conviction, but the ball hit the net and nothing else mattered.
2 - Alejandro Garnacho is the first Premier League player to score twice in both a quarter-final match and a semi-final match in the same League Cup campaign since Manchester City's Edin Dzeko in 2013-14. Fightback. pic.twitter.com/tXTppK5f4u
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 14, 2026
Chelsea fans urged their team on in the closing stages, although were left to breathe a sight of relief when an offside flag denied Arsenal a stoppage-time penalty after Gabriel Jesus was brought down.
Chelsea vs. Arsenal Half-Time Stats
| Statistic | Chelsea | Arsenal |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 55% | 45% |
| Expected Goals (xG) | 0.23 | 0.54 |
| Total Shots | 4 | 6 |
| Shots on Target | 2 | 1 |
| Big Chances | 0 | 1 |
| Pass Accuracy | 88% | 85% |
| Fouls Committed | 6 | 7 |
| Corners | 2 | 5 |
Chelsea vs. Arsenal Full Time Stats
| Statistic | Chelsea | Arsenal |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 58% | 42% |
| Expected Goals (xG) | 0.65 | 2.68 |
| Total Shots | 10 | 17 |
| Shots on Target | 5 | 6 |
| Big Chances | 1 | 3 |
| Pass Accuracy | 85% | 83% |
| Fouls Committed | 12 | 14 |
| Corners | 6 | 9 |
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chelsea Player Ratings vs. Arsenal: Garnacho Brace Keeps Blues Alive After Costly Goalkeeping Errors.
